Testing of a Different Sorts
by Ducklee6
Summary: When Wheatley smashes strait back to Earth and Chell finds him, she realizes the only way to save him is to go back /there/. But when GLaDOS realized her two FAVORITE subjects are back in Aperture, she decides it's time for her final testing, the one she's been so eagerly waiting for... Rated T juuuust in case. There MIGHT be Chelley, but I'm not sure. Enjoy! :D
1. Chapter 1- Quiet is the loudest noise

Portal fic  
(Don't read if you haven't played all of portal 2!)

**Hi! It's me! I was writing this and reading a bunch of Portal fanfics on here, and I thought, 'Why not put mine on here?' so here it is ^_^ I will give you chapters as soon as I can, but they usually won't be farther than a week apart. Enjoy, R&R, and excuse the short chapters... XD Ducklee out!**

Chapter 1- Quiet is the loudest noise

Silence.  
Mind-shattering silence.  
That's all I hear, drifting around in Earth's orbit.  
The Space Core had drifted away from me some time ago. Who knows what happened to him? It's been five years. Five years since I became that horrible, moronic monster... Space becomes lonely. It really does. I sigh inwardly, wishing for the fifth-most thing I want right now: Something to do. I have five things that I desperately want, now that I'm in space.  
Five, something to do.  
Four, to go back to earth.  
Three, to get rid of this deafening silence.  
Two, to see Chell again.  
But most of all, I just want to say... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for taking over, I'm sorry for smashing the elevator down the shaft. I'm sorry for being a monster. I guess I'm just sorry... Sorry for being me. Little ol' moron Wheatley.

I descend into thinking over and over again how much of an idiot I was. How I had one friend,_ one friend_, and I blew it. To pieces. Almost literally. I spun around a bit to see for about the fiftieth tine if I could somehow propel myself, but even that was insane to think about.

The itch of wishing to hear something, anything, enters my circuitry once again. I decide to reactivate my speakers for now. A crackle in my voice speaker is a pleasure to my metaphorical ears. It was a noise. Beautiful, blissful noise.  
"I'm sorry," are the first words that came out. A bit of a sigh, but mostly just pain, and wishing I could reverse time and make it stop somehow. I search my databanks for something interesting to think out loud about, even though I had been through them all four times alre-

"AHHHHH!" I shout, while my body is suddenly shot towards Earth at an alarming speed. What the..? I turn around to see an asteroid growing smaller and smaller in my vision. Bloody luck, if you ask me. I turn back toward the continents, which were growing rapidly bigger. I'm above Aperture Sciences this time of year, so I pray I won't smash strait into GLaDOS's chamber. Somehow She would classify that as an act of idiocy. Suddenly I realize that this will probably end up in pieces of me being scattered everywhere. I close my optic tight as I feel my metal body become alarmingly... Did I use that word before?... Hot. Very, veryvery hot. I simply awaited impact, and my sure death. This, in fact, was not bloody lucky.

* * *

I'm fishing. It is quite a nice day, I might add. I pull my sunhat down over my eyes to shield them from the bright ball of light that was the sun. It's pretty hot, maybe around 87 degrees feirenheight. I groan and shift position. The chair I'm in is starting to stick to my legs.

After about an hour had passed, I finally give up on catching a fish. Oh well. I had to work anyways. Since I... Since I left, I became a video game designer. Really a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself. I channeled all that had happened when I first woke up into the Enrichment center years ago into one video game called Portal. I was really happy about it, especially that I had remembered most of the actual test chambers myself. The reception was incredible, so much that I was prodded to make a sequel. It consisted of the time since Wheatley woke me up to when I left Aperture. I wasn't really sure how to end my game until I got something in the mail. It was a CD, the center where you put the design on it speckled like stars in space. The sender was anonymous. I put the disc in my computer, and after watching it I felt my heart simply lose something. It was real footage. I quickly worked on animating the scene into the Portal game style. This became my ending. Portal 2 got an ever larger reception, and I recall the glee I felt when I found my first fanart online. I had a fanbase! Now I was getting told to make a Portal 3, and the problem is that... Well, there was no story left to tell. I honestly don't know what to do. I walked back to the small town where I lived, fishing pole slung over my shoulder. My brain suddenly flashed to the disc I had been sent...

_"I wish I could take it all back. I honestly do. I honestly do wish I could take it all back. And not just 'cause I'm stranded in space-"_  
_"I'm in space!"_  
_"I know where you are, mate. Yup. We're both in space."_  
_"Spaaaaace!"_  
_"Anyway, you know if I ever was to see her again... You know what I'd say?"_  
_"We're in space!"_  
_"I'd say... I'm sorry. Sincerely. I am sorry I was bossy... And monstrous. And... I am genuinely sorry. _

_The end._

I bite my lip to keep from tearing up- I can't get all sentimental... Not when I need a plot for Portal 3.

No matter how much Wheatley did to me... Made me test, tried to kill me, and became flat-out power mad, I can't seem to hate the little core as much as I should. He deserved punishment, of course, but I guess all my hate is balled up inside all those memories with Her.

And then, well... The plot falls right in front of my face.  
Literally.  
I suddenly realize there is a reddish-orange light coming from the daytime sky. I look up and I widen my eyes. It's gonna hit right near me! I scramble backwards, fishing pole abandoned, as the meteor, debris, whatever it was hits the ground with earth-shaking force. At least it feels this way. I wait for a few minutes, riddled with shock, before I approach the- I'm going to guess it's debris, considering it's fairly shiny- carefully. I inch over to the foot-deep crater it made and peer inside. The debris is spherical in shape, except for two pretty askew handle bars, as if someone or something might want to carry it. I grab the thing's rubber handholds and turn it around to get a better look and- Oh god.

It's Wheatley.


	2. Chapter 2- Back to Hell

Chapter 2- Back to hell

It's Wheatley. Sort of. Sort of him is over there, sort of him is over here...

Suddenly a switch clicks in my brain.

_He'll die in this shape!_ I suddenly think, and I scramble around, grabbing the pieces that looked like they might be something important. Thankfully, most of it looks unimportant... I pick up Wheatley's mane core... Ish shape and try to figure out how the pieces fit. I was no scientist! How can I do this?!

After a few hours, it's starting to become fairly clear that Wheatley has shut down, and my heart sinks. I decide to take him back to my house, at least what was left of him.

All this time in space, and now that he finally comes back, it's in a ball of fiery death. He, If my studies were correct, honestly didn't deserve what he got. I've been trying to figure out what made the poor thing so power-mad, and I think the chassis that GLaDOS and Wheatley were in _itself_ is corrupt. Once GLaDOS was put in a potato, she was still a jerk, but not the real sadistic monster that ran me through the tests. Almost... Stripped down to her core elements. It seemed the same way with Wheatley. Once he was in the chassis, all those years with GLaDOS calling him a moron were warped into some strange and very frightening vengeful lunatic.

After walking a little while, I honestly just don't feel like walking anymore. I sit down in the fields of wheat surrounding the town I live in and hug Wheatley, his very lively blue light that I guess was his optic completely gone. I just wish there was some way to fix him... Probably only his original makers could fix hi-

_His makers._ I run the thought through my head a few times.

_Makers, makers..._ there's something I'm missing here. But what?

Oh!

To save him, I'd have to go-ooobad idea. I can't go back there. I won't. I have a life out here. I'm a big-time game designer! People would freak if I suddenly disappeared... Plus, I just... I'll admit it. I'm scared. Scared of the testing, scared of the stasis I was put in for I-don't-even-know-how-long amount of time...

_you have been in suspension for_

_999999...9_

_Days._

I shake my head clear of the memory, not really wanting to remember how many '9's there actually were. I can't go back. I won't. But then I look down at the sphere in my hands, and I actually start to consider it. The core who betrayed me, tried to kill me... Why do I even want to save him?! It makes no sense. I just... Can't hate him.

Soon I decide probably the biggest decision in my life. I decide that I'll go back. Even when GLaDOS said that she just wanted me gone. Well, now she can't even have that. A small smirk appears on my face at the thought of depriving GLaDOS the luxury of getting rid of me. I turn back toward the Facility, knowing that I'll regret this sooner or later. Probably sooner.

* * *

"A test subject and an AI... A test subject and an AI...! I don't have any AIs that aren't vital to the Enrichment Center protocol." I glance around at the screens surrounding my chassis, trying to find just one AI that I don't need. Not to mention I doesn't have any test subjects left. Yet I need both to try out my most resent experiment. The options for science were becoming increasingly slim, I realize, without anything at least semi-organic to test _with_. It is frustrating, to say the least.

"Deletion of Caroline failed."

I make note of another failed attempt to delete Caroline from my memories. I have it set so that every hour my systems will try to delete that stupid bug from my being, but it had always failed. Why couldn't I get her out of my head?!

Life in Aperture sciences is becoming increasingly boring since that moron got thrown into space and I let Chell go. Why didn't I just keep her for more testing? It was an idiotic move, almost worthy of the king of all idiots. I decide to sit back and listen to the cores on my chassis's ideas, but they are really stupid. One even said to bring back... What does he call himself...? Ah, yes, Wheatley. Bring him back from space. It was a stupid idea to start, but it becomes even worse when I checked his systems from a homing beacon I put on all Aperture devices, and the signal wasn't there. He probably got himself killed in space. I wish he had been tortured a bit longer out there, but nature will do as it will. Just like science.

* * *

Oh god, the memories.

I stand at the front building of Aperture Sciences. It looks like a really reinforced grocery store at first glance. The Aperture logo is imprinted above the doors, which have a combination lock. I decide to look for another entry. Soon I find a grate. I stare skeptically at it- GLaDOS would never have made it that easy to get into the Enrichment center. To be truthful, it's probably a trap. I glance down at my long-fall boots, which I always wear when I leave to go fishing or out into any wilderness. Someday I'll need to reorient myself while I was falling at an alarming speed toward the ground, so I keep them on out here. I decide to scoot down into the grate, no matter if it was a trap or not. I sit down and throw myself in, Wheatley in my arms. I soon realize I was right. A trap. It turns out this was the best trap I could have asked for- the long-fall-then-go-splat trap. Only I won't go splat. I have those convenient little long-fall boots. I wait for the fall to be done, seriously hoping that I won't end up back in old Aperture.

* * *

"Beeeeep!"

I whip around to the farthest screen from me. I know that beep. That beep was the sound when someone infiltrates Aperture! My mind instantly starts wondering what the person looks like. What their height was. Their weight. How smart they were. If they could handle a handheld portal device. The only opening other than the main door was the long fall trap... Ah! My only test subject will be dead in seconds! I call up a video of what was currently happening in the long fall chamber, and I can swear that my circuitry stopped working for a second. It's _her_. With her long-fall boots on, conveniently. But it's her. The one who had brutally murdered me. Twice. The one I had let go. Why was she back?! She has a defective core in her hands, science only knows why.

It takes me a while for me to get my composure, and once I do she had just landed on the ground safely. She looks around, silent as ever. I wonder if she can speak, and wasn't just a mute. If she can speak, I realize that she must not be doing so just to annoy me. I turn on the speaker on.

"Welcome back to Aperture Sciences.

...

You monster."


	3. Chapter 3- An Agreement

**'Ello again! Look guys, I am REALLY sorry for not getting this out sooner. The lab boys are really big into Christmas, so we've been running around like panicked deer for the past week or so to get everything ready. This is literally the only time I've been on the internet all week. And considering this is a science facility, that's saying something. I'm lucky I had time to write... Anyways, I still feel really bad and wanted to say sorry for the wait. I've gotten a report on transferring AIs into humans and reverse, and here's what they say:**

**"Do NOT transfer AIs into humans and reverse. Mental breakdown can ensue."**

**Well. I'll have to change some things then. The boys say that these fanfictions of the robots getting put into human bodies can result in chaos. They also say I should stop communicating so much. So you know what?! I'll communicate more! Communication is important! Right? Right. If you disagree, I found some combustible lemons in Old Aperture's storage...**

**Well, enjoy! R&R, please! The reviews mean a lot!**

Chapter 3- An Agreement

Ugh. She just had to bring _that_ up again. I look around, hearing GLaDOS speak through whatever speakers were in here. Wherever I am, it looks fairly new. It's a small room made of portalable walls, with Aperture's classic circle door on one side. There's some stained blood under my feet, I suspect from other intruders when they hit the ground. I decide to respond, but not with words. I won't succumb to actually speaking to Her. I hold Wheatley up to the small camera watching my every move, and turn my hand as if I was using a wrench on him.

* * *

She holds up the defective core to my monitor, and makes a motion I really don't recognize. At first. Then I make a connection to what humans use to fix things- a wrench. Of course! She wanted me to fix the core. But what could be so important in that core that she'd come back _here_? I zoom in with my camera to look at any sign of identification when I read something behind one of it's panels in small print-

_Intelligence Dampening Core_.

Oh no. I am NOT going to revive that moron. No wonder the core homing beacon wasn't responding- by the way he was singed and some parts were warped, I'd guess he crashed and burned into earth like a meteor. Oh, how I would have loved to see that. Now she was here to revive it? Urgh. Suddenly I remember something- I needed a test subject and an AI to complete my experiment. I could use this to my advantage...

"You want me to fix it? And why should I fix that moron?" I say to her. I decide to mess around with her a bit before I propose my idea. It would be a little more... Entertaining. Suddenly something catches me off-guard. She looks up at me with an expression I had never seen before on her: desperation. Although she never speaks, her expressions are so powerful that they do all the talking for her. That crazy, mute, lunatic now has the most annoying look of desperation I have ever seen on a test subject. I almost feel- No. Caroline is thinking again. It's Caroline.

"Oh well," I speak. "There's no way I'm reviving that idiot." I watch as she literally falls down from shock. She buries her face in her hands, and I watch, relishing in my arch enemy's suffering before I decide to say something. I choose my words carefully.

"Hmmm." She looks upward, a slight beacon of hope in her eyes.

"I have... A compromise." She stands up, looking at my camera earnestly. She nods her head, and I continue.

"As you know, I have no more test subjects. For five years, I couldn't do any human testing. I made due with robots, but humans give so much better results. During that time, I figured out and prepared another test- something I've been wanting to do for a looong time." She nods again, so I explain my idea.

"I will revive him... If you go through the testing of this new development."

* * *

I stop dead. More testing? Was it worth it to revive Wheatley? I look at the core in my hands. Soon I nod.

"Good. Now walk through the door. It goes directly to my control room." I step closer to the door, and it opens quickly. I peer inside to find GLaDOS herself, surrounded by some panels that I guess are screens. She turns toward me, and the screens rise up into slots in the ceiling.

"Well hello. I still can't believe you were dumb enough to come back here." I give her a look that says, 'get to the point', and she leans closer to me. I feel like disappearing into a hole forever, but I won't show it in my face. I stare at her indifferently and shove Wheatley toward her. She picks him up with those clamp things, and the claw rises up into the ceiling like the screens. I watch it go up, then look back at GLaDOS as if to say, 'what now?'

"Now, wait. I must prepare my test for your arrival."

* * *

I maneuver some of my panels around- Her name is Chell, right? It seems Caroline's memories are messing mine up- boxing her in. I don't bother with a ceiling. Humans are worthless jumpers. I bring one screen down, showing the room where my experiment is. I look through it, glancing around. I have to... Modify some things. I bring down another screen and focus in on Chell- her dark brown hair is put in a messy ponytail style, and her eyes are a grey that remind Caroline of storm clouds. I also conjure up an image of the Intelligence Dampening Core in my mind, instantly remembering the bright blue optic of his. I make my modifications, and after about thirty minutes, my experiment is done it's changes. I glance over to the right of the screen, and move the camera to another panel. The panel opens, revealing a tall human female. She has fluffy black hair and a white dress on. A circular red stone adorns her collar. I have kept her body from decaying for... How long has it been now? I check my databanks and realize it's been fifty-seven years since she died. I almost chuckle when I think of how cryosleep has messed up the age of her favorite test subject. Is Chell in her late twenties or seventies? It's quite a concept. I still can't figure out why I keep her, though. She's hooked up to some wires, the only things keeping her from rotting inside that filthy chamber. I close the panel and release Chell. She stands up and looks around. I'm not surprised she was sitting. Humans get tired easily. It must be such a hindrance. I open another door to a different room, and she looks at it skeptically.

"Well?" I ask, wondering what was taking so long. "Go on."

* * *

I take GLaDOS's advice and hurry into the room. I shouldn't have hesitated in the first place. The door shuts behind me, so I decide to look around. There are two particular spots I notice- one looks like a human chair connected to a bunch of wires, and the other looks like a slot to put a core into, also connected to some wires. The wires run to a crack in a panel to the far left, and my mind starts running away from me with what could be back there. Anything from giant turrets to a botanical garden could be behind that, but the latter is extremely improbable.

I walk over to the chair carefully, and I notice that there's a metal hat-like thing connected to the top of it. I try not to look as worried and anxious as I actually am, but I think it might be failing. I look at the two or three cameras in the smallish room, and realize that all the test chambers only had one camera. This one was heavily guarded, by camera standards.

Suddenly a panel in the ceiling opens up and a fully repaired Wheatley comes down in that clamp-claw thing. One thing catches my eye though- his optic light isn't on, not even the slightest hint of it. I look up at one of the cameras and shift from side to side, wondering what trick GLaDOS was pulling.

"He should wake up once we... Get started." GLaDOS's voice comes from whatever hidden speakers were in the room. I take Wheatley and sit down on the floor, not daring to sit in the chair before me.

"Plug the moron in, then sit," GLaDOS instructs. I hesitate a bit, then put Wheatley in the slot. I sit down shakily- why did I even do this?

"Good. Now just sit tight and w-" I look up as the sound fizzles out. What's going on?

* * *

"Now just sit tight and w-" I cut out the communication as soon as I can. "AH! What are you doing? Stop!" I try desperately to avoid Caroline, but her presence is suddenly extremely strong.

"No! NO!" I close my optic tight to concentrate on getting rid of the pest inside me and turn on the process.

"NO! STOP I-" Suddenly my consciousness is pulled down to minimum just as I input the data to start the test. But something is wrong. I lose thinking capabilities just as a huge electrical shock courses through my body...


	4. Chapter 4- The switch

**Hi everyone! I finally have a new chapter out :3 A little nod to Forte-girl7 here, as I cannot imagine Wheatley any other way ^-^ Anyways, enjoy and please review!**

Chapter 4- the switch

"AHHHH!" I scream at the top of my lungs as an immense pain courses through my body. The hat thing closes onto my head, and I black out, feeling the wind knocked from my lungs.

Lungs? I regain consciousness, remembering pain in my lungs. I try to look around and-  
"AH!" My voice raises and lowers in a robotic tone as I suddenly realize that something has happened. My optic widens- where am I? WHAT am I? I try to look at my back, but whatever I am in seems to be preventing it. I glance around and realize that I'm not standing. I'm hanging. The floor is below me. What I am hanging from, I'm not sure, but it's really freaky. I'm pretty sure I'm a robot. An AI, to be exact.  
"What am I?" I mumble. My circuitry simulates an intake of breath, I guess- my voice. It sounds like... Like _her_. Why do I sound like her? I test my voice a few more times, then close my optic in confusion. I definitely sound like-  
Wait! I sway from side to side, trying to get a feel of my body, and I confirm it. I'm in _her_ body. Why? Why would GLaDOS want me in her body? It must be a mistake. Connected to the abrupt ending of the speakers. Yeah. But... Then where is GLaDOS?

"Ugh... What happened?" I sit up and look around. I am alone. A panel leads into another room, I guess to the chamber Chell was in.  
I smirk. It worked. Perfectly. I stand up with ease, stretching my body. It was _my_ body! Not dormant inside_ her_. My own self! I laugh a bit in triumph, and push back my long black hair. I did it! Thank god to Chell, or I would still be fighting _her_.

I let out a breath and peek around the corner. The chamber Chell and Wheatley were in. Perfect. I take off a small panel and input some things into the keyboard. A claw drops from the ceiling, holding an emergency portal gun. I grab it eagerly and secure it on my hand. I shoot some portals and get out of my small chamber. I used to mess around with the portals in my free time, so I know how to work them pretty well. Once I'm out into the main chamber, I wiggle my way into the other space, where all the wires lead, and glance at GLaDOS's work.

Two androids stand, one female-made and looking suspiciously like Chell, and the other a design I had never seen before. It was a male model with ginger hair. It's closed eyes have rectangular thin-rimmed glasses resting on it's nose. It is donned in a grey suit-like outfit, with a small blue gem on it's collar. I finger my own red gem on my dress collar, wondering if there's some connection. Last time I remember I had a red scarf-thing. It's matching grey pants are long, and go down to it's ankles. Long-fall boots rest on it's feet comfortably.

I glance down at my own feet, which are long-fall boot-less. If my assumptions are correct, then the Chell model won't be needing the boots. I take them off and slip them on my own. At least GLaDOS had the grace to make these things one-size-fits-all. I sit back and wait until the male model wakes up.

I don't have to wait long. In a few minutes the android's eyes blink open. It's eyes are the same brilliant blue as Wheatley's- it must be his counterpart. I start to ponder why GLaDOS made him ginger when the former core squeaks out in fright and falls to the ground. The body looks surprisingly like a human's- the skin looks real, the joints seem to flow naturally... If you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't notice. I crawl over to Wheatley and wave at him, smiling. The poor thing just looks up at me in fright and scoots away from me.  
"W-where am I?" he says shakily, glancing around. He carried over his british accent, I notice. "Last I remember, I was shooting toward Earth at a kabillion miles an hour..." My gaze softens with pity just a little. Last time he was active, he thought he would die.  
"Well... Let's se-"  
"Wait, who are YOU?" Wheatley points a finger at me, then pulls it back in shock and amazement. I try not to giggle at his fascination with his new body.  
"Don't worry. My name is... Is Caroline," I respond.  
"Caroline? But wasn't that Cave Johnson's assistant girl? H-how are you still alive?" Wheatley responds, and I let out a sigh.  
"Well... That's a long... You know what? I'll just upload some stuff into you. It's easier and puts less stress on you." I reach over and open a panel on the android body. Wheatley freaks for a moment, then settles down.  
"O-oh. An android. That's... Not a problem. I can maneuver it just fine, because... Because I know a lot about androids! Yeah!" I halfway listen to the ex-core's ramblings while I find the information I need. Once I find it, I download it into Wheatley's databanks. His eyes widen and he presses himself against a wall.  
"D-don't touch me! I'll- you are- don't kill me!" He waves his hand out in front of him like a weapon, and I sigh.  
"It's me. Caroline. Not her. Ca-ro-line." I sound it out to try to get it through his head.  
"B-but, then where's GLaDOS?" Wheatley pops the question I've had dormant in my mind for a while. Where was the corrupted AI that I was turned into? Surely not in me now...  
"Honestly, I don't know." I shrug, really wishing I had Cave Johnson with me. He could figure out where GLaDOS is, I'm sure.  
"Damn lemons," I mutter, and Wheatley looks up at me, confused.  
"Lemons?" he repeats, and I look up sharply.  
"N-nothing," I stutter. I walk over to the ex-core and offer him my hand. He takes it and I hoist him up. He wobbles at first, but the android body quickly stabilizes him.  
"H-hello? Are these the speakers?" I look up in surprise to hear GLaDOS's voice float into the room, softer and very frightened.  
"Ah! There she is!" Wheatley jumps, but I suspect different. GLaDOS would never speak like that.  
"Chell. Yes, that's the speakers. Listen to me. It's Caroline. No matter what you do, /listen to me/," I say sternly. She has to get that body under control, or we could be in a world of trouble.


End file.
